National News

Rapper Nixes Flag Trample Imagery From Finished Video

Lil Wayne is skirting the potential for more controversy with the magic of video editing. The rapper has cut footage of the video shoot flag footwork that prompted calls for an apology last month. Lil Wayne caught heat when a rough cut from his "God Bless Amerika" video showed him stepping on the American flag that had been lowered to the ground during production. Wayne took to Twitter to defend himself against critics who called him unpatriotic, saying he didn't step on the flag on purpose. The video's final cut shows Wayne from the waist up after the flag drops - and no signs of him walking over Old Glory.

The edited clip signals Lil Wayne's second attempt at making amends in recent days. The rapper verbally apologized to the family of slain civil rights figure Emmett Till during a concert in Nashville last week. The family has taken exception to Wayne dropping Till's name in a crude rap reference that conjured reminders of the teenager's brutal slaying in 1955.